Ara
Ara is the chachaoong who owns the Bune Tal. She is a flirtatious young woman who seems to fall in and out of love at the drop of a hat. After falling in love at first sight with Yu Jin, she has been staying in his house taking care of much of the housework, all the while claiming to be his fiancée. She is the third Tal to move into Jin's house. Appearance Standing at around five feet tall, Ara is a shapely young woman with blue eyes and long, light brown hair kept in partial braids. In general, her appearance is that of a naive girl in her late teens or, possibly, early twenties. Personality Ara has a somewhat mercurial personality. On one hand, she can come across as somewhat naive and ditzy while on the other, she has demonstrated a violent temper and extreme (often comical) jealousy when anyone speaks to or gets near Jin. Despite her eccentricities, she has a kind heart and is shocked at Hanarin's cold behavior toward Jin, calling her "the devil" when the other woman implies that she does not care if the new king died. Ara seems to be slightly out of touch with reality in that she instantly declares her love and intent to marry Jin, and is unable to quite comprehend why or that he does not return her feelings. She also insists that she would be capable of bearing him a son in a single month. She is quite determined in her amorous pursuits, and sexually harasses Jin to the point that he is physically exhausted from trying to avoid her. She is instantly respectful to Muyeong after he told her he was Jin's father and generally refers to him as "Father." Abilities Ara has demonstrated only the usual abilities of a chachaoong—enhanced strength and the ability to form weapons. She seems to prefer large axe-type weapons and can use them with enough dexterity that she uses them when preparing food, instead of using normal kitchen knives. It was stated that in terms of sheer physical strength Ara may well be the strongest of the Tals. Despite this, Imae easily caught one of her axes with just two fingers. But, of course, it is unknown if she threw it with her full strength. Relationships * Hanarin - though Ara seems to view Hanarin as more of a mother figure, it is somewhat implied that Hanarin's interest in Ara may be less pure. At the very least Hanarin seems to stalk Ara around and is very jealous of any man that touches or shows interest in her. * Yu Jin - Ara instantly "fell in love" with Jin and usually claims to be his fiance though he has never indicated that he reciprocates her feelings. Though she is in the habit of falling out of love as rapidly as she falls in love, her feelings for Jin have persisted longer than usual and she does seem to genuinely care for him. * Saeha - It is unclear exactly what their relationship is but they do seem to have some kind of significant history together as Saeha always begins speaking properly when around Ara and chose to stay with Jin simply because she asked him to. Notes * Both Saeha and Cheonryang behave as if they are smitten whenever Ara is nearby. It has not been explained in the story, but the situation seems to parallel the Hahoe mask dramas in which Bune is the lover of both Seonbi and Yangban. Plot History Very little, if anything, is known about Ara's past beyond that she is a Tal (and, thus, probably older than she appears) and has previously met the other Tals. Exactly how she came to meet Hanarin and the nature of their relationship is unknown. It is known that she has always had a tendency to instantly fall in love with men, and just as quickly fall out of love. She may have had some sort of relationship with both Saeha and Cheonryang in the past. (See Notes above.) Part 1 Season 1 When she first meets Yu Jin, she is in the middle of a phone call with Hanarin and spots him speaking with Mirinae from a distance. She instantly declares that she has found her soulmate and follows him home, stating her intent to marry him (and attacking anyone who so much as speaks to him). Since then, she has been staying at his house, doing many of the chores and some of the cooking, which she is surprisingly good at despite her strange personality. Part 1 Season 2 References